Colin McNaughton facts for kids

Colin McNaughton (born May 18, 1951) is a British writer and artist. He has created more than seventy children's books. He is also a poet, mostly known for his funny poems for kids. He studied graphic design and illustration in London. Today, he lives in London.

Growing Up: Colin's Early Life

Colin McNaughton was born in Wallsend, Northumberland, in 1951. His dad worked in a shipyard, and his mom was a school dinner lady. When he was a child, no one expected him to become a famous children's book creator. Their home didn't have many books, but it always had comics! These comics, with their silly humor, really influenced him.

Colin McNaughton's Amazing Books

Colin's first book was published while he was still studying at the Royal College of Art.

His lively picture books often use comic-strip styles. They are sometimes like a long joke. Colin once said:

When I was little, adults were always telling me to `Stop Being Silly' and to `Stop Messing About'. It took me far, far, too many years to realize that these were the only two things in life that I was any good at. Now, it's what I do all day. It's how I write my books: I get an idea and I mess about with it. I do silly things with it. I play with it.

Colin's books include the popular Preston Pig series. These books feature Preston Pig and how he almost gets caught by Mr. Wolf. Titles in this series are Suddenly!, Boo!, Oops!, Goal!, Hmm..., and Shh (Don't Tell Mister Wolf!). A television show was even made from these books for CITV.

One of his most famous books is There's an Awful Lot of Weirdos in Our Neighbourhood. This is a collection of poems he wrote with Allan Ahlberg and it came out in 1989. Colin McNaughton has worked with Allan Ahlberg on other books too. These include three from the Happy Families series: Mr and Mrs Hay the Horse, Miss Brick the Builders' Baby, and Mrs Jolly's Joke Shop.

Colin also worked with artist Satoshi Kitamura to create Once Upon an Ordinary School Day, which was published in 2004.

Colin shared his goal for his books:

I suppose what I'm striving for these days, in my books, is to do more with less. I'm looking for that kind of quality that the classic, two minute, pop song has; it's great when you first hear it and it's still great thirty years later. It's a lovely contradiction; it's of the moment but it's also timeless. That's what I'm after

Some of Colin's Published Books

Here is a list of some of the books Colin McNaughton has published:

• 1 2 3 And Things
• A B C And Things
• Dracula's Tomb
• Not Last Night But the Night Before (illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark)
• Soccer Crazy
• We're Off to Look for Aliens!
• Here Come the Aliens!
• Captain Abdul's Little Treasure
• If Dinosaurs Were Cats and Dogs
• Potty Poo-poo Wee-wee!
• Once Upon an Ordinary School Day (illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura)
• What Now, Cushie Butterfield
• Lemmy Was a Diver
• Jolly Roger And The Pirates Of Captain Abdul
• She's a Little Cow
• S.W.A.L.K. (Preston Pig)
• Who's Been Sleeping in My Porridge?
• Wish You Were Here (and I Wasn't)
• I'm Talking Big!
• Good News, Bad News
• Oomph!: A Preston Pig Story
• Don't Step on the Crack!
• Little Goal!: A Preston Pig Toddler Book
• Little Oops!: A Preston Pig Toddler Book
• Little Boo!: A Preston Pig Toddler Book
• Little Suddenly!: A Preston Pig Toddler Book
• Mr and Mrs Hay the Horse (written by Allan Ahlberg)
• Miss Brick the Builders' Baby (written by Allan Ahlberg)
• Mrs Jolly's Joke Shop (written by Allan Ahlberg)
• There's an Awful Lot of Weirdos in our Neighbourhood

Awards and Recognition

Colin McNaughton has won several awards for his books:

• He won the British Book Award for Design and Production in 1989 for Jolly Roger. He won it again in 1993 for Making Friends with Frankenstein.
• He received the Kurt Maschler Award (also called "the Emil") in 1991 for Have You Seen Who's Just Moved in Next Door to Us?. This award celebrates books where the words and pictures work perfectly together.
• He won the 1996 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize in the 0–5 years category for his book Oops!.

Other Recognitions

Some of his other books were also recognized:

• Jolly Roger was a runner-up for the 1988 Smarties Prize, the W H Smith Illustration Award, and the Kurt Maschler Award.
• Watch Out for the Giant-Killers! won the 1991 Earthworm Award.
• Who's That Banging on the Ceiling was recognized at the 1992 British Book Award for Design and Production.
• Suddenly! was a runner-up for the 1994 Smarties Prize.
• Here Come the Aliens! was recognized for the 1996 Sheffield Children's Book Award and the 1996 Kate Greenaway Medal.